1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a water softening apparatus, a dishwasher having the same and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a water softening apparatus having an improved structure capable of enhancing the water softening efficiency, a dishwasher having the same and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A dishwasher represents an apparatus to clean dishware by spraying high pressure wash water toward the dishware, and in general, the dishwasher performs a preliminary washing stage, a main washing stage, a rinsing stage and a drying stage. In the preliminary washing stage, dirt of dishware is removed by spraying wash water without detergent, and in the main washing stage, a washing of the dishware is achieved by allowing detergent to be introduced by a detergent supply apparatus while spraying wash water.
The dishwasher includes a body provided at an inner side thereof with a washing tub, a basket reciprocatingly installed at an inside the washing tub and containing dishware, and a spray nozzle provided at an upper side and a lower side of the basket to spray wash water, so that the dishware is washed by the wash water sprayed by the spray nozzle.
Meanwhile, the dishwasher may adopt a water softening apparatus using an ion exchange resin to soften hard water. Hard water having a great amount of metal cations, such as calcium and magnesium, interfere with the action of soap or detergent, degrading the washing performance of the dishwasher.
The water softening apparatus is an apparatus for softening hard water by removing metal ions contained in the hard water, and includes an ion exchange resin tank to convert wash water into soft water and a regeneration tank to regenerate the ion exchange resin.
In addition, an air brake include a water supply port allowing a source water to be introduced therethrough, an ion exchange resin tank connection port connecting such that wash water introduced through the water supply port is introduced into the ion exchange resin tank and a regeneration tank connection port connecting such that wash water is introduced into the regeneration tank.
Although each of the water softening apparatus and the air brake may perform a different function, there is an increasing demand of a water softening apparatus having the function of an air brake as well as a dishwasher including such a water softening apparatus in terms of the convenience of consumer and optimization of system configuration.
An air brake assembly of a dishwasher is disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2006-0095838 as a relevant prior art.